C S S R 0 8’ 0 9 14 - 15 March 2009

C O N F E R E N C E ON S C I E N T I F I C & S O C I A L R E S E A R C H

STRESS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AMONG PRE-

SCIENCE STUDENTS IN UiTM NEGERI SEMBILAN

Rafidah Kamarudin1, Azizah Aris2 and Nor aini Ibrahim3

1
Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan
2
Faculty of Information Technology and Quantitative Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Johor
3
Faculty of Information Technology and Quantitative Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT

The present study is carried out to find out if there is any significant difference in the level of
perceived stress among the students at the beginning, middle and end of the semester. We would
also like to find out whether there is a correlation between the students’ level of perceived stress
at the three different periods (beginning, middle, end of semester) on their academic performance.
The final objective is to determine the possible stress factors that the students perceived may
contribute to their academic performance and the association between academic performance and
stress factors. A total of 242 Pre-Diploma Science students in June-Nov 05 intake at UiTM
Negeri Sembilan involved in the study. Besides descriptive statistics like percentages, a chi-
square test, a Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, and Spearman Rank correlation were also used to analyze
the data. The results showed that students did experience stress but at a moderate level. There
was a significant difference between the level of perceived stress at the beginning and middle of
semester but no significant different between the level of perceived stress at the middle and end of
the semester. We also found out that there was no correlation between the level of perceived
stress at the beginning and middle semester with the students’ academic performance but there
was a significant correlation between the level of perceived stress at the end of semester and
students’ academic performance. Majority of the students reported of not getting enough sleep and
nutrition problem throughout the semester. However, results shows that none of the stress factors
discussed affected the students’ academic performance.

Keywords: Perceived stress, Stress Factors, Academic Factors, Academic performance

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Learning and memory can be affected by stress. Although an optimal level of stress can enhance learning
ability (Kaplan & Sadock, 2000), too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems (Niemi
& Vainiomaki, 1999), reduce students’ self esteem (Linn & Zeppa, 1984; Silver & Glicken, 1990) and
may affect students’ academic achievement.

1.2 Problem Statement

University students have many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve optimal academic performance.
A number of researches have been done looking at the correlation of many stress factors that university
students experience and the effects of stress on their GPA (Hatcher and Prus, 1991; Hammer, Grigsby and
Woods, 1998; Trockel, Barnes and Egget, 2000; Calderon, Hey and Seabert, 2001; Kelly, Kelly and
Clanton, 2001).
However, a review of literature indicates that not much have been prioritized on the stress-related
research. Moreover, majority of the investigation has taken place in the United States of America (USA)
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and the emphasis was placed more on the students in the medical field. The researchers have found out
that there is not much research conducted in our local universities particularly in the Universiti Teknologi
MARA (UiTM) itself pertaining to this issue.
Therefore, it is timely to conduct a research to examine this particular issue as findings from the
present study would benefit various parties in the university especially the Students Affair Division (HEP)
and the Academic Affair Division (HEA) in planning and conducting necessary programmes for the
students so that stress-related factors could be reduced and better academic performance could be
achieved by the students.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This study attempts to find out if there is any significant difference in the level of perceived stress among
the Pre-Science students in UiTM Negeri Sembilan at the beginning, middle and at the end of the
semester. In addition to that, we would like to find out whether there is a correlation between the
students’ level of perceived stress at the three different periods (beginning, middle, end of the semester)
on their academic performance. Our final objective is to determine the possible stress factors that the
students perceive may contribute to their academic performance. In addition to that, the association
between the academic performance and the identified stress factors would also be explored.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

A frequently reported source of stress that most undergraduate students experience is receiving a lower
grade than they expected (grade pressure) (Ratana Saipanish, 2003; Evans & Fitzgibbon, 1992; Kohn &
Frazer, 1986). Too much stress can interfere student’s preparation, concentration, and performance but
positive stress can be helpful to students by motivating them to peak performance (Pfeiffer, 2001).
Students also have a fear of failure in relation to their grades and academic work. To fall short of their
own or others’ expectations in school, job, athletics, or any other activity one risks both external and
internal costs: threat to academic or career prospects, disapproval, rejection, humiliation, guilt and blow to
the self-esteem (Schafer, 1996).
Those studies carried out with medical students show that in the academic area, heavy work load,
examinations and meeting deadlines for assignments were the most common causes of stress (Evans &
Fitzgibbon, 1992; Kohn & Frazer, 1986). This is further supported by Ratana Saipanish (2003) who
conducted a study on 686 medical students in the Faculty of Medicine; Ramathibodi Hospital, Thailand
and finding has also shown that academic problems were found to be a major cause of stress among all
students. The results indicated that the most prevalent source of academic stress was test/exam.
Obviously, test or exam anxiety is one of the main causes to academic stress and most university
students seem to be more emotionally vulnerable due to examinations. Increased anxiety from tests has a
debilitating effect on students’ performance. When information generated by worrying about the test
reduces the capacity available for performing the task, the result is that performance breaks down and the
result becomes self-confirming (Fisher, 1994).
Academic stress pervades the life of students, and tends to impact adversely their mental and physical
health, and their ability to perform schoolwork effectively (Clark & Rieker, 1986; Felsten & Wilcox,
1992). Stress associated with academic activities has been linked to various negative outcomes such as
poor health (Greenberger, 1981; Lesko & Summerfield, 1989), depression (Aldwin &Greenberger, 1987),
and poor academic performance (Clark & Rieker, 1986; Linn & Zeppa, 1984). For example, Lesko and
Summerfield (1989) found a significant positive correlation between the incidence of illness and the
number of exams and assignments. Similarly, Aldwin & Greenberger (1987) found that perceived
academic stress was related to anxiety and depression in college students.
A number of studies have found a relationship between stress and poor academic performance (Clark
& Rieker, 1986; Linn & Zeppa, 1984; Struthers, Perry & Menec, 2000). Felsten & Wilcox (1992) found a
significant negative correlation between the stress levels of college students and their academic
performance. In a similar study, Blumberg and Flaherty (1985) found an inverse relationship between self-
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reported stress level and academic performance. Struthers et al. (2000) also reported that a high level of
academic stress was associated with lower course grades. Students experience a high level of academic
stress due to exams, assignments, time pressure, grade pressure and uncertainty. In short, this stress has a
detrimental effect on the academic performance.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 The Subjects

The subjects involved in the present study will be limited to the Pre-Diploma Science Students in UiTM
Negeri Sembilan. The objectives this programme are to help weak-students in their academic especially in
the science subjects. The programme is designed as a preparatory and remedial course before entering the
Diploma courses in any UiTM campuses throughout the country. In other words, it is a bridging
programme from the secondary school level to the diploma level which helps to prepare the students for
the various science and technological-based courses available in UiTM. The students are then able to
pursue into the Diploma programme if they obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.00
in the first semester. However, they have to undergo for the second semester if their CGPA is below than
the required point.
Since the population size for the Pre-Diploma Science students in June – Nov 05 intake at UiTM
Negeri Sembilan is only 242, therefore all of them are chosen as subjects for the survey. Out of 242
students, 88 students did not answer the questionnaires completely; hence it left the researchers with 154
responses to be further analyzed.

3.2 The Instrumentation

A structured self-administered questionnaire was developed as a mode of data collection. The questionnaire
comprised of three sections:

Section A was the Students’ Profile. This section was developed by the researchers and participants
were asked to report data about themselves such as their names, class groups, genders and previous
schools. This information is required to allow matching of data in the three stages of the data collection
with the academic performance data.
Section B was the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), developed by Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein
(1983). PSS was chosen in this study because this scale is the most widely used psychological instrument
for measuring the perception of stress. It is designed to measure the degree to which respondents found
their lives "unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloading" (Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983). The
scale also includes a number of direct queries about current levels of experienced stress. It was designed to
be used in communities whose samples have at least a junior high school level of education which is
equivalent to the Pre-Diploma level. The items can be easily understood and very general in nature that
they are free of content specific to any subpopulation groups.
The PSS is a 14-item scale that can be administered in just a short time and is easy to score. The PSS
questions inquire the respondents’ feelings and thoughts during a certain time frame. The information
obtained will help to determine the level of stress they perceived at that particular time. In each case, a
five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very Often) was used and respondents were
asked on how often they felt a certain way. PSS scores were obtained by reversing the scores on the six
negative items, (e.g., 1=5, 2=4, 3=3, 4=2, 5=1), and then summing across all items. Items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10,
12 and 13 are the positively stated items. Individual scores on the PSS can range from 14 to 70 with lower
scores indicating lower perceived stress and higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.
Initial reliability coefficients, obtained by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983) ranged from 0.84
to 0.86. Test-retest correlation was 0.85. In 1988, the psychometric properties of the PSS were again
explored . Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the internal reliability of the PSS14 was 0.75.

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Section C was the Stress Factors Survey. This section requires the participants to identify the factors
of stress that they experience during the given time frame. Several factors of stress were listed down in the
questionnaire and respondents may indicate more than one factor, which they perceive relevant to them.
The section was developed by the researchers and the sources of stress were gathered from the literature
review in the second chapter. The stress factors focused in this study are limited to those discussed by
Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein (1983). Thus, other stress factors such as environment are not included in
this study.
Besides the questionnaire, the students’ academic performance is obtained from their Grade Point
Average (GPA), which is a common measure of academic performance used in the higher learning
institutions. The reason of obtaining their GPA’s is to find out whether stress that they experienced leaves
an impact on their academic performance.

3.3 The Procedures

This study utilized a self-reported questionnaire survey procedure. The 4 page questionnaire prepared by
the researchers were distributed to the students at three different times; one month after the semester
started (beginning), one week after the semester break (middle) and the final one was given after their
final exam ended (end). The purpose of doing this is to answer the first objective of the study, which is to
identify the trend of stress among the students throughout that particular semester.
In order to reduce and control non-response error, the questionnaires were delivered and collected
personally by the selected lecturers during classes. Questionnaires were administered during the same
week to minimize the effect of varying stress levels that may occur and also under the same basic
conditions. Respondents were informed to read the instruction written in the questionnaire carefully. Then
they were required to complete the questionnaire during the given time. The students were not given any
extra marks for participating in this survey.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Respondents’ Profile

Out of 242 students who answered the questionnaire, only 154 (63.6%) of them responded to the
questionnaire completely and only these completed questionnaires will be used for further analysis. From
the total of 154 students, 77.9% of them were females while 22.1% were males. This is a common
scenario in higher institutions throughout the country whereby the proportionate is usually imbalance
between males and females. In other words, the percentage of females is always outnumbers the males.
Majority (87%) of the respondents came from the non-boarding schools and only a small percentage
(13%) of them came from the boarding schools. Since the majority of the students came from the non-
boarding schools, this means they have no experience of staying away from their families and being
independent compared to those who came from the boarding schools.

4.2 Students Academic Performance

Students academic performance refers to the Grade Point Average (GPA) obtained from the Academic
Affair Division (HEA) UiTM Negeri Sembilan. The GPA was based on the students’ academic
performance in their final examination results for that particular semester. The results comprised of five
compulsory subjects namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English Language. Table 1
represents the students’ Grade Point Average (GPA) in the final examination of the respective semester.

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Table 1: The Students Academic Performance

CGPA Frequency Percent

3.50 - 4.00 37 24.0
3.00 - 3.49 65 42.2
2.50 - 2.99 31 20.1
2.00 – 2.49 10 6.5
0.00 – 1.99 11 7.1
Total 154 100

The table above indicates that in general, we can say that the students’ performance is good, where
majority (66.2%) of them scored Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 and above. Out of this number 24%
of them achieved 3.50 and above which indicates excellent academic achievement. Only 13.6% of the
students scored GPA less than 2.00. This shows that the number of low academic achievers is very low.

4.3 Questionnaire Design

A set of questionnaires namely the Perceived Stress Scale which was developed by Cohen, Kamarck &
Melmelstein, (1983) were used to elicit the data specifically to refer to the students’ lifestyles in that
particular semester. The questionnaires were distributed at the beginning of the semester, middle of the
semester and at the end of the semester.
Reliability test was run to identify whether the students were consistent in answering the questions.
The reliability coefficient was calculated in the 14 item scale in the questionnaire to look at the internal
consistency in the Perceived Stress Scale level. In general, the reliability less than 0.6 are considered poor
(Sekaran, 2000).
From the reliability test, the Cronbach alpha values are greater than 0.6 in all the three period of time,
thus, the Cronbach alpha are considered to be adequate and the students’ answers are considerably reliable
(Cronbach Alpha for beginning semester was 0.666, middle semester was 0.776 and end semester was
0.758).

4.4 Level of Perceived Stress

A non-parametric test was used to test the significant differences between the level of perceived stress at
the beginning and middle of semester as well as at the middle and end of the semester. Since no
assumption of normality was needed and the data was dependent thus, a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was
used.

4.4.1 Level of perceived stress at the beginning and middle semester

In order to look at the differences between the level of perceived stress at the beginning and middle of the
semester, we postulate the hypothesis below:
H0: There is no significant difference between level of perceived stress at the beginning and
middle semester.
H1: There is a significant difference between level of perceived stress at the beginning and middle
semester.
From Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, the result shows that the null hypothesis was rejected (p <
0.05). This indicates that there is a significant difference between the level of perceived stress at
the beginning and middle of the semester at alpha 0.05 levels. Meanwhile, the negative Z-score
implies that the level of perceived stress faced by students at the beginning semester is less
compared to the stress level at the middle of the semester.

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4.4.2 Level of perceived stress at the middle and end semester

The same test as above was applied to look at the significant difference between the level of perceived
stress at the middle and end of the semester.
H0: There is no significant difference between level of perceived stress at the middle and end
of semester.
H1: There is a significant difference between level of perceived stress at the middle and end of
semester.
The result indicates that we failed to reject the null hypothesis since the p-value is greater than 0.05.
This indicates that there is no difference between level of perceived stress at the middle and end of
semester. Thus we concluded that the level of perceived stress experienced by the students from the
middle towards the end of the semester was higher than the level of stress at the beginning of the semester.

4.4.3 Level of Perceived Stress and Academic Performance

Spearman Rank Correlation was used to test whether there are any significant differences between the
level of perceived stress and the students’ academic performance.
H0: No correlation between levels of perceived stress for beginning, middle, and at the of end
of the semester with the students’ academic performance.

Based on the test results from Spearman Rank correlation, there is no correlation between level of
perceived stress at the beginning and middle semester with the students’ academic performance.
The test results also show that there is a significant correlation between perceived level at the end of
semester and the students’ academic performance at 0.05 level. The rho value is –0.206 shows that there is
a weak negative correlation between level of perceived stress at the end of semester and students’
academic performance. This implies that when the level of perceived stress is higher, the academic
performance will be lower.
Thus, we can conclude that the even though the level of stress faced by the students at the middle
towards the end of the semester was higher than the stress level at the beginning of the semester, but it did
not affect the students’ overall academic performance. This was probably due to the low level of stress
indicated by the mean score of 39.16 out of the total score of 70.

4.5 Stress Factors Survey

Questionnaires were given to the students at the beginning, middle and at the end of the semester. They
were asked to identify the stress factors that might contribute to their academic performance at the three
different periods of time throughout the semester. There were eleven-stress factors listed in the
questionnaire and the students may indicate more than one-stress factors.

4.5.1 Stress Factors at the beginning, middle and end of semester

The table below shows the percentage of students who experienced different stress factors at three
different periods of time throughout the semester namely beginning, middle and end of the semester.

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Table 2: Percentage of students having stress during the semester

Percentage of Students
Begin Middle End
Stress Factors Semester Semester Semester
Nutrition 53.2 53.9 51.9
Sleeping too much 21.4 23.4 20.1
Not getting enough sleep 58.4 57.1 53.9
Problems with boyfriend/ girlfriend 6.5 7.8 10.4
Class Attendance 4.5 3.2 5.3
Problems with roommate 28.6 18.2 30.5
Over Exercising 1.3 0.6 1.3
Not enough exercising 44.2 50.0 55.8
Social Activities 23.4 25.3 20.1
Finances 31.8 41.6 26.6
Course load 44.8 32.5 37.0

Based on the table, it shows that majority of the students (more than 50%) claimed that they were not
getting enough sleep at the three different periods of time throughout the semester, with 53.4%, 57.1% and
53.9% respectively. This is followed by the nutrition factor, with 53.2%, 53.9% and 51.9% respectively.
Thus, we conclude that most of the students did not satisfy with the food provided at the college dining
hall. In addition, the students also claimed that they did not have enough exercises as shown in the table 2
above. This is probably due to the limited sports and recreational facilities and activities available for the
students in the campus. Other factors namely sleeping too much, problems with girlfriends/boyfriends,
class attendance, problems with roommate, over exercising, social activities, finances and course load did
not really contribute to stress among the students.
Chi-Square test of independence was used to test whether students’ grade (GPA) do not depend on the
occurrence of stress factors. Since the questionnaires were distributed at the three different periods of time
throughout the semester namely, at the beginning, middle and end of the semester, therefore, the number
of occurrence of each stress factors is categorized as below:

Table 11: Explanation of Factor Occurrences

Factor Occurrence Explanation

Never The stress factor never exist at all 3 periods
Sometimes The stress factor occurred once
Often The stress factor occurred twice
Very often The stress factor occurred at all 3 periods

H0: Grade does not depend on the number of occurrence of stress factors
H1: Grade depends on the number of occurrence of stress factors

From results of the Chi-Square test, it shows that none of the p-values were less than 0.05 which
means that we failed to reject the null hypothesis at alpha 0.05 levels. Thus, we conclude that students’
grade achievement (GPA) does not depend on the number of occurrence of each stress factors throughout
the semester. In other words, we can say that none of the stress factors mentioned above affects the
students’ academic performance.

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5. CONCLUSIONS

5.1 Discussions and Implications

In general, we can conclude that students did experience stress but at a moderate level with the total score
of 37.9 at the beginning of the semester, followed by 39.17 at the middle of the semester, and 38.4 at the
end of the semester out of the total score of 70. This implies that the students did not experience stress as a
major problem even though this is their transition period from school to university life. The possible
reason is probably due to the small student population in the campus which is only 242 of them and the
ratio between students and lecturers approximately 10:1. Therefore the relationship among themselves as
well as with the lecturers is much closer. Another possible reason is the course workload is not much
different with the secondary school level (SPM).
From the analysis, we conclude that the level of perceived stress experienced by the students from the
middle towards the end of the semester was higher than the level of stress at the beginning of the semester.
The possible explanation to this situation is, at the beginning of the semester, the students were not yet
given any tests, quizzes and exam. However starting from the middle towards the end, more tests, quizzes
and exam came into their life. This probably contributes to higher stress level among the students
compared to the stress level at the beginning of the semester.
Our second objective was to find out whether there is a correlation between the students’ level of
perceived stress at the three different periods of time (beginning, middle, and at the end of the semester)
on their academic performance. Based on the test results, we found out that there is no correlation between
the level of perceived stress at the beginning and middle semester with the students’ academic
performance. Results of the present study correlates with the findings in a study conducted by Womble,
L.P. (2003) who also found out that students stress was not significantly correlated with students GPA.
However, we found out that there is a significant correlation between the level of perceived stress at
the end of semester and the students’ academic performance. The rho value is –0.206 which implies that
when the level of perceived stress is higher, the academic performance will be lower. However, it is
important to note that the correlation is rather weak. The implication is that the stress level that they
experienced was not that high to the extent that they cannot cope with their academic activities. Hence, it
is not surprising that more than half (66.2%) of them scored GPA 3.00 and above and out of this number
24% of them achieve Deans List of GPA 3.5 and above.
Our final objective is to determine the possible stress factors that the students perceive which may
contribute to their academic performance. Based on the results, it shows that majority of the students
(more than 50%) claimed that they were not getting enough sleep at the three different periods of time
throughout the semester, with 53.4%, 57.1% and 53.9% respectively. This is followed by the nutrition
factor, with 53.2%, 53.9% and 51.9% respectively. Thus, we conclude that most of the students did not
satisfy with the food provided at the college dining hall. In addition, the students also claimed that they
did not have enough exercises. This is probably due to the limited sports and recreational facilities and
activities available for the students in the campus. Other factors namely sleeping too much, problems with
girlfriends/boyfriends, class attendance, problems with roommate, over exercising, social activities,
finances and course load did not really contribute to stress among the students.
In addition to that, the association between the academic performance (GPA) and the identified stress
factors were also explored. Results shows that students’ grade achievement (GPA) does not depend on the
number of occurrence of each stress factors throughout the semester. In other words, we can say that none
of the stress factors mentioned above affects the students’ academic performance. This supports the
findings by Jerome (1996) and Ryan (2004) who were also unable to show a significant relationship
between academic achievement and exercise.

5.2 Suggestions and Recommendations

Based on the findings and discussions above, we would like to bring forward several suggestions and
recommendations to relevant authorities. First of all, it is suggested that the current student and lecturer
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ratio available in the campus to be maintained. This is because results show that this is one the possible
reasons that contribute to the low level of stress experienced by the students. This is important as it can
ensure high academic performance among the students. This means instead of completing the course in 2
semesters, they can complete it in 1 semester.
We also would like to suggest to the Students Affair Division (HEP) to consistently plan suitable
activities or programs for the students such as organizing talks on motivation, time management and study
skills. Such programs and activities would help to reduce the level of stress or at least they know how to
control their stress as it would directly contribute to their academic achievement.
It is also suggested that Students Affair Division (HEP) to continuously monitor students food intake
provided at the dining hall. This is essential because good nutrition would contribute to good health which
indirectly may result in producing good academic performance.
In addition to that, sports and recreational facilities or activities should also be upgraded to provide
more opportunities for the students to get involved in sports and recreational activities. Obviously, getting
involved in those activities is one of the possible ways to help students to reduce their stress.

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Paper number: 3003584